Bluetooth Proxy in Home Assistant - Use WiFi to extend your BT range

Use Bluetooth proxies in Home Assistant to extend your range using Wifi. It is super simple and quick to do.
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ESPHome Bluetooth Proxy: esphome.io/components/bluetoo...
ESPHome Ready-Made projects: esphome.io/projects/?type=blu...
M5 Stack Atom Lite: shop.m5stack.com/products/ato...
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/ @larsklinttech
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Chapters:
0:00 What is a Bluetooth proxy?
1:48 Using the M5 Stack Atom Lite
6:24 Connecting to Home Assistant

[@christiandavies7650]

Awesome, thank you. I didn't know this was a thing. Now hopefully I can reach some of my outdoor Bluetooth controlled garden lighting.

[@LarsKlintTech]

I know right!? I was so happy when I found out too 😁

[@poisonouswhisper]

Hi, I don't know if thats something you have planned and/or use for, but I would love to see something with "amazon ring alarm". The sensors (Door/Window, Motion), Keypad, etc use z-wave and can be used directly with homeassistant and alarmo. You could build a smal Alarm system. Thanks for the good videos!!!

[@LarsKlintTech]

Thanks for watching, my friend. Good idea for setting up an alarm system. I don't have any Amazon nor Z-Wave devices, so it is unlikely I will go down that path though. 😊

[@shawn1982]

Hi, i love the video, it's successfully installed, but when click next, configure wifi not showing, i don't know what is the problem

[@LarsKlintTech]

Do you mean in Home Assistant? You aren't getting the popup that allows you to enter the IP address of the proxy? Can you search for new devices?

[@ds_7]

This is fantastic, saving me after buying an expensive CO2 sensor that only broadcasts Bluetooth 😅

[@LarsKlintTech]

Awesome! I wish more people knew about this trick too. Which CO2 sensor did you get?

[@user-bw5ep5gm1g]

Do you leave the ESPhome plugged into your device that is running home assistant?

[@LarsKlintTech]

No, not at all. The whole idea is that you can have these wherever you have Wifi connection on your network ☺

[@jangai91]

Can I use this to connect to a Bluetooth receiver and play music over wifi? If yes can you share how to do that? Do i need home assistant to do that? (The receiver is only bluetooth)

[@LarsKlintTech]

Good question Ian. This particular setup requires Home Assistant, and is designed to extend BT range in HA. This will let you integrate Bluetooth devices that are compatible with Home Assistant, so you'll need to have a speaker that is compatible. Google Hubs work as do Sonos.

[@colinwebster6700]

do you need to run the ESP home Add on ?

[@LarsKlintTech]

Yes, as that is the integration with Home Assistant that make the device work it.

[@speedsd2202]

hi.. cool, at min 7:13, how do you get that list of device connected, is it in HA?

[@LarsKlintTech]

Ah, good question. I kinda skipped over that. That list of devices is from my Unifi Network controller. Whatever controls your Wifi will have a list of connected devices and their IP addresses.

[@speedsd2202]

@@LarsKlintTech great.. Thanks lars..

[@user-db9fi1ci7x]

thanks for the video and info! i have two questions: 1) is this process only to extend bluetooth range for HA? or can i do this process to simply add bluetooth capability to HA? 2) does the ESP32 generic board have to be connected to my laptop always in order for HA to detect my switchbot blind tilt bluetooth devices? P.S. i have home assistant green

[@LarsKlintTech]

Thanks for watching Carlos. 1) Kinda both. You use this to extend the range, but you could also just have one BT proxy as your only connection. 2) It needs to be powered at all times, but not to your laptop. Any power source will do.

[@user-db9fi1ci7x]

@@LarsKlintTech so i just got the ESP32 board and i've connected it via micro usb to my laptop and went through the process of installing it, but installation seems to be stuck. how long should it be "installing" and "preparing installation" for? its been like 20 minutes.

[@user-db9fi1ci7x]

so i went through your video again and i ended up selecting the bluetooth peripheral device option and then continued the process up until it started "installing" but it just stayed there for like 30 minutes. the only other options i had were a bluetooth headset and a serial port but no USB port option. any advice?

[@user-db9fi1ci7x]

@@LarsKlintTech so i downloaded drivers for windows and then discovered that not all micro usb cables can transfer data but i refuse to believe that the 1000 give or take cables i have are for power only because i tried them all and none worked. even one that i know was used to transmit temp and humidity sensor date to my LinknLink ehub didn't work.

[@LarsKlintTech]

@@user-db9fi1ci7x It doesn't take long, maybe a minute or two. It sounds like your USB port isn't registered as a serial port, so you might have to start there.

[@Triumph31600]

No need for a integration like "Passive BLE monitor" ? And don't need to add "bluetooth:" in your HA configuration.yaml file ? I tried and no BT device is seen 😞

[@LarsKlintTech]

In general, yes. Do you run HA on a device that has a BT antenna in it? For example I run it on a RP4, which supports BT, so HA just knows.

[@user-jt8mm8cs3n]

tried with an Atom s3 lite and it says not supported.

[@LarsKlintTech]

You should be able to program it manually too, but that is of course a lot more work. There is some sample code in the ESP Home link in the description.

[@teslabolt007]

Love the video, just wish I could get it to work for me.

[@LarsKlintTech]

How far do you get? What isn't working?

[@teslabolt007]

@@LarsKlintTech I was able to install with success it appears but nothing showing up as discovered and I have a SensorPush and InkBird sitting nearby.

[@LarsKlintTech]

​@@teslabolt007 yeah right. Can you see the proxies on your network?

[@teslabolt007]

@@LarsKlintTech Yes, I can.

[@LarsKlintTech]

@@teslabolt007 alright, good start. And when you add the IP address of the proxy into Home Assistant, what happens? Anything in the logs?

[@mikaelsyska]

Is it only me or are Lars and the voice not in sync 🤔

[@LarsKlintTech]

Possibly a bit in the end? Apologies for that. Editing software is finicky at the best of times 😔

[@mikaelsyska]

​@@LarsKlintTech Odd ... It's not an issue on my phone. Maybe it's my computer. But I did test it in Firefox and Edge... That's why I wanted to let you know. I will test again tomorrow when I'm in front of my computer again.

[@JamesTenniswood]

Yes same for me

[@threepe0]

Oh no my comment was deleted after I put a link in it :-( I hope you can still see it. Anyways let me know if you have any questions about usbip

[@LarsKlintTech]

I didn't get the link but the comment in general. I am pretty sure the BT proxy uses Wifi, as there is no way the Bluetooth would reach to my other building. Why else would it need Wifi connection otherwise?

[@threepe0]

@@LarsKlintTech Edit: After looking again, I think I'm incorrect on this. That's great news though, the solution seems more useful! sorry about that